Furniture spending up, booze spending down

Eftpos and credit card spending in the core retail sectors rose 0.2 per cent last month, with shoppers buying up on durables such as appliances and furniture.

Spending on durables, which also includes hardware, pharmacy and cosmetics retailing, lifted 0.7 per cent or $7 million last month on September, according to seasonally adjusted figures from Statistics New Zealand.

Card spending on consumables, such as food and liquor, fell 0.6 per cent or $9m, compounding a 0.7 per cent or $11m slip in the category in September.

Total retail card spending including fuel and vehicle purchases lifted 0.4 per cent – helped along by a 1.6 per cent or $11m boost in fuel spending. Petrol prices began to fall late last month as international prices eased, and are now at their lowest level since late July.

Acting industry labour and statistics manager Tehseen Islam said spending rose in most retail industries last month, but fuel and durables were the only ones to record significant rises.

Total card spending, including in non-retail sectors such as travel and health, was up 0.4 per cent for the month.

Core retail card spending slumped 0.9 per cent in September.

- © Fairfax NZ News